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1800225-39052500FEDERAL LEGISLATION WORKING GROUP MEETING3/3/21Agenda Biden administration activitiesLegislation updatesTexas power crisisE4TheFuture’s requestNext stepsNotesBiden administration activitiesOn February 24, President Biden ordered a 100-day review of supply chains for "four vital products," including critical minerals and advanced batteries, and a one-year review of supply chains for energy and five other economic sectors.On February 25, Jennifer Granholm was sworn in as secretary of energy after the Senate confirmed her nomination earlier in the day. Senators confirmed the nomination of the former Michigan governor on a 64-35 vote. On February 26, the Biden administration raised the social cost of carbon to about $51 per ton. The figure factors into a wide variety of policy decisions including EPA regulations and government spending.This change could also have implications for state level cost-effectiveness assessments. Don mentioned a recent Foreign Affairs article about interest rates and what low interest rates mean in terms of the social cost of carbon. Legislative UpdateLIHEAP: On February 22, the House Budget Committee reported out the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill, including $4.5 billion for Low-Income Home Energy Assistance funds and $500 million for low-income households to pay water and sewer utility bills. The bill is moving forward in the House under budget reconciliation rules, which would exempt the legislation from a Senate filibuster.More legislative efforts under way for next set of bills that hopefully will focus on EE-specific asks. We need to hone our message (per Steve) so that we have a consistent message we can hammer when talking with Congressional leaders.Examples from renewables is ITC and EE doesn’t have an equivalent.We should be focused on economic benefits of EE, like smart job development/creation (e.g., the GREEN ACT (tax-focused) and the Climate Bill… introduced yesterday).The Open Back Better Bill (pushed by EESG) was reintroduced yesterday in House (Blunt-DE) and Senate (Smith-MN).Here’s a Federal legislative update from NAESCO’s member newsletter that I received right after today’s call:NAESCO’s federal advocacy is focused on ensuring the funding of the?Open Back Better. We are working with the national Energy Efficiency Strategy Group (EESG) and meeting with both Biden administration and Congressional staffers to understand where in the pending major legislation -- COVID relief, budget reconciliation, supplemental appropriations, or infrastructure – OBB will best fit. Once we know where OBB will land, we will ask NAESCO members to contact key Representatives and Senators to support the bill.The?Open Back Better?bill will appropriate $22 billion for Mission Critical Facilities Renewal (MCFR) that will be leveraged into $110 billion of performance-based projects.?This bill was reintroduced on March 2.Increased?appropriations?for the State Energy Program (SEP), the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program, and the Weatherization Assistance Program are also priorities for the EESG.Authorizations?for?tax incentives, including extension and enhancement of the 179D and the authorization of E-QUIP tax deductions.Recommended?administrative actions?include mandatory benchmarking for all multifamily public and assisted housing, streamlining the approval process for PHA EPC projects with a mandatory timeline, and requiring that all Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) conversions meet minimum standards for energy efficiency.Here is a link to more information about the CLEAN Future Act. Pasted below are a couple of documents about the Act that Don kindly sent over.Texas power crisis updateLeaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Feb. 19 pressed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to answer questions about the near-collapse of the state’s power system during a mid-February cold snap, including whether more links with the Western and Eastern interconnections would have alleviated the crisis.FERC has scheduled a March 23-24 technical conference on resource adequacy in the “evolving electricity sector.” The conference will be open to the public and webcast.E4TheFuture RequestAudrey Bragg from E4TheFuture asked our help in gathering signatures for a constituent?sign-on letter?about appropriations for DOE programs related to energy efficiency.These programs include Home Performance with Energy Star, the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) and the State Energy Program (SEP).?Organizations have supported past appropriations defense efforts by sharing E4TheFuture’s letter. Some suggestions:Promote the constituent sign-on letter on social mediaDistribute an email blast to an organization’s contact databaseLink to the sign-on letter in a member newsletterMention our sign-on letter in a webinar or presentationAudrey is happy to follow-up with more information, including template language that could be repurposed for use in your own email blast. Her email is abragg@ Next stepsOur next Federal call will be Wednesday March 17th at 8:15. Here are the call-in coordinates:Web: Call-in: +1 669 900 9128, Meeting ID: 977 7731 8912Passcode: cedmc ................
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